Trial by fire
by Foolish-comic-dude
Summary: a small team of Marines and navel personal attempt to make it back to the UNSC with vital information


_0900 hours_

_UNSC Destroyer_ Inquiry

Hanger 6 

Sergeant Camron Blake leaned around the corner, and pulled back in time to narrowly miss a bolt of superheated plasma. Leaning around again he pumped the trigger of his Battle-rifle, and was rewarded with a trio of sharp cracks, then a soft click. Swearing violently, he ducked back, hand dropping to his belt. His questing fingers found nothing. Swearing again, he threw the rifle around the corner, and drew his side arm.

Reaching up to his helmet he activated his comm. "Major Willthrow. This is Sergeant Blake of Wolf Company. We have suffered 80 casualties and I am pulling what forces I can find back to engineering. Please route any forces you can to back us up."

"Negative Sergeant. Help is on the way, hold you position." The other's voice was layered with stress.

"Not possible Sir, they have a hunter. And we have lost our heavy weapons specialists."

"Help is on the way solider, stay there."

"Sir, yes Sir." Blake ground out. Is this all we count for he thought, Hold the hanger, Wolf. Stop the borders Wolf. Help is on the way, Wolf.

They had better send two full fucking companies.

The ground under his feet began to shake, Blake turned around to see a green clad behemoth run up. "Sergeant Blake?" A helmet filtered voice asked.

"Yes." He said. The figure was impressive, encased in a reflective suit of olive armor. It was over two meters tall, the rocket launcher it was carrying looking like a toy in its hands. The insignia of a petty officer 1st class winked from the helmet.

"Where is your weapon Sergeant?"

"Out of Ammo Sir."

The figure took a Battle-rifle off its shoulder, and handed it Blake. "Keep the Grunts and Jackals off me."

"Yes Sir." Blake saluted.

He leaned out and threw a grenade around the corner. Counting to two he dived around out, skidding to a halt behind the body of another Marine. He propped his rifle up on the woman's shoulder and took aim at the closest grunt. The meter tall alien barked at him and raised its claw like plasma pistol. Then his grenade went off, sending shrapnel ripping through the grunt and his three companions. Blake was up even before the smoke had cleared.

He ran forward and took cover behind a bulkhead. Suddenly the spot he had just vacated exploded into green fire. Blake closed his eyes, and when he opened them again the corridor was a blackened and melted mess, with nothing left to suggest that there had been 8 bodies in there less then two seconds earlier. The green armored figure stepped into the mess and shouldered the rocket launcher. With a pair of dull thuds then the launcher was empty and the figure was running toward him with nothing but a pistol.

A voice sounded in his helmet, a distinctly famine voice. "Sergeant, the hunter has been taken care of, please come out and accompany me to the hanger."

Blake removed himself from the bulkhead, and saluted the woman. "Yes "Mam."

"Where is the rest of your company?"

"Holding the repair hanger. I was on my way to take command of them when I ran into these dicks."

"Order them to meet you here. I will continue on to the hanger, fallow me once your company is assembled."

"Yes, Mam, but I must point out, you only have that pistol, how do you plan on taking out an entire assault shuttle?"

The woman stooped down and picked up a plasma pistol a grunt had dropped. She checked the battery and looked at him. "That's the easy part, I'll shoot them."

"We'll double time it to back you up." He saluted her. "Good luck Mam."

She retuned the salute. Then, pistol in either hand, she ran toward the hanger. Blake stayed at attention until he could no longer hear her footsteps. Then he reached to his helmet and clicked on his comm. "Wolf, this is sergeant Blake, status report."

A man answered him. "We are down to just six of us, sergeant."

He grimaced, and clicked his radio. "Understood, who am I talking to?"

"Privet first class, William Janston."

"Privet Janston, who is the ranking officer there?"

A new voice cut in. "Camron? This is Vennesa, I'm the ranking here."

"Good to hear your voice baby. New orders, double time your asses up to gamma sector."

"Understood Sir, on our way. Wolf over and out"

He switched channel to the Major's channel. "Major, this is Sergeant Blake, I am now the ranking officer of Wolf and I am now requesting permission for my people to advance into the hanger."

All he got was static. He tried again. "This is Wolf lead, is anybody reading me?"

Still only static. He switched to general broadcast. "This is Wolf lead, what has happened to the Major?"

"Wolf lead, this is the bridge, Marine HQ took a direct hit. Your new orders are to get up here now; we are evacuating the Admiral."

Bridge, I only have six people left, you would do better getting one of the other companies to help."

"You are the only company not engaged. The others are being ordered off the ship, but you are to retrieve us first."

"Off the ship? To where? We are in the middle of nowhere."

"The LZ is the covenant flag ship."

"No offence bridge, but, have you gone brain dead?"

There was a mirthless laugh from to other side. "None taken Wolf. But those are the orders. The Admiral has put us on a collision with the ship. We'll enter through the hole the ship makes. If it gets there."

"I still think it's suicide, but, I'll head up there as soon as my squad is assembled."

"Good, see you when you get here. See if you can pick up a few pilots, we'll need them to fly the Pelican into the hole."

"Wait, can't some one up there fly the Pelican?"

"Yea, but not as well as some one who has been working in them recently."

"Alright, if we see any of them, I'll order them with me."

"Understood, see you soon."

"Wolf lead over and out."

Blake turned his attention to his squad, wondering when they would show up. Even as he wondered, he saw a rifle tip poke around the coroner. The rifle was fallowed by the top of a helmet, then a face. Then all of Corporal Vennesa Slingston stepped out. She ran forward and embraced him. Their lips met in a kiss and he held her there for a full two seconds before releasing her.

She looked up into his eyes; they kissed again, then separated. The rest of Wolf had entered the corridor bye then. She saluted him. "What are our orders sergeant?"

"We are going to get the Admiral off the ship, and onto that Covenant flag ship."

Vennesa stared. "That's suicide. What is the major thinking?"

"The Major is dead."

"Oh. Then who?"

"These orders come directly from the bridge."

"Oh."

"Yea."

Blake looked past her to the five other weary soldiers standing behind her, and felt a sudden pang of regret. These men and women had already been though so much that he did not think that it was fair that they would have to throw their lives away in a mad charge. When he spoke to them his voice was as cold as ice, betraying none of the guilt he felt. "I will not order you to fallow me, but if you stay here, you will die. I am offering you a small chance of survival. So, who is with me?"

All of the marines raised their hands; two even managed a small smile. "All right." Blake smiled, "Lets do this shit."


End file.
